Three things everyone should know about hospice

Originally published in the Lincoln Tribune, February 12, 2008

We've all been there: someone in your family gets sick. And stays that way. After rounds of tests over the course of weeks or months, you hear the terrible news: it's cancer. Or kidney failure. Or heart disease. No matter what the diagnosis is, your family is in crisis: "What now?"

As a nurse for over 20 years, I can tell you the answer is to call a hospice. Hospices are a special kind of healthcare organization. They help people with serious illnesses cope with the challenges of daily life, for as long as possible. All hospices provide a special "care team" of nurses, CNA's, social workers, and more who come to your home and care for your special needs. Their goal is to make you as comfortable and symptom-free as possible.

Hospice is a big concept and hard to condense into a few words. But there are three things everyone should know about hospice — long before it's needed.

Hospice is for everyone. People who choose hospice are young, old, and everywhere in between. They might have cancer, Alzheimer's, AIDS, kidney failure, heart disease, or any other serious illness. They might rent small apartments or live by the lake. They are every color and creed. Anyone with a serious illness can ask for hospice.

Hospice helps the patient — and the whole family. Health crises affect so many lives around the sick person. Hospices not only provide medical care to the patient, they provide support from social workers, counselors, and chaplains to the whole family. Not sure what to put on those 'advanced care planning' forms? A social worker will be there to help you. Need a sympathetic ear? The hospice chaplain is there to listen. The team members can differ from one hospice to another, so it's important to ask what services each organization offers.

Hospice can help much earlier than you might think. A March 2007 study in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management showed that people who chose hospice lived longer than those who didn't. The care team can get involved sometimes as early as the day you hear the diagnosis. Calling hospice sooner means more time with pain under control, symptoms quieted, and a better quality of life.

I welcome questions from you, the reader, about any part of hospice care. Remember: if you think hospice could help, it's time to call. See you next week!